sparse

adjective

ˈspärs 

sparser; sparsest

: of few and scattered elements

especially : not thickly grown or settled

sparsely adverb

sparseness noun

sparsity

ˈspär-sə-tē 

-stē

noun

Synonyms

• scarce

Choose the Right Synonym for sparse

meager, scanty, scant, skimpy, spare, sparse mean falling short of what is normal, necessary, or desirable.

meager implies the absence of elements, qualities, or numbers necessary to a thing's richness, substance, or potency.

a meager portion of meat

scanty stresses insufficiency in amount, quantity, or extent.

supplies too scanty to last the winter

scant suggests a falling short of what is desired or desirable rather than of what is essential.

in January the daylight hours are scant

skimpy usually suggests niggardliness or penury as the cause of the deficiency.

tacky housing developments on skimpy lots

spare may suggest a slight falling short of adequacy or merely an absence of superfluity.

a spare, concise style of writing

sparse implies a thin scattering of units.

a sparse population

Examples of sparse in a Sentence

open land is sparse around here

Recent Examples on the Web

Model Drift and Fraud Patterns Require Human Feedback In fraud detection, patterns evolve quickly and data remains sparse. —Christer Holloman, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025

The floors will be reclaimed plastic and concrete, and the equipment in the hospital will be sparse, as there are no monitors available, Hawash-Kuemmerle said. —Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 10 Sep. 2025

Similar to Norway, Bolivia’s appearances in finals are sparse. —Phil Hay, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025

Given the sparse opportunities remaining in the season for Crochet to win the award, Doolittle concluded that Crochet's only chance of winning has more to do with what Skubal does or does not do in his remaining starts. —Michael Hurley, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin sparsus spread out, from past participle of spargere to scatter — more at spark

First Known Use

1753, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sparse

• arse
• carse
• farce
• marse
• parse

Kids Definition

sparse

adjective

ˈspärs 

sparser; sparsest

: of few and scattered elements

especially : not thickly grown or settled

sparsely adverb

sparseness noun

sparsity

ˈspär-sət-ē 

noun